Community Living Services — turning dreams into reality

Midland Daily News

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, November 15, 2008

Home Sweet Home

When you think of housing lately - well it has been just plain depressing!

Those of us fortunate to own a home are watching the value drop like a rock. And far too many Michiganians and Americans are losing their homes to foreclosure at a rate that that is unmatched or unseen since the Great Depression.

Michigan has been leading the parade of the economic death march for longer than other parts of the country - but it seems everyone else is catching up quickly. Yet, like the guy complaining about not being able to afford a new pair of shoes until I see the man with no feet, I feel lucky to still have my home, health care and income.

Attending a ribbon cutting ceremony of a new house being built to provide a home for people with disabilities snapped me out of my funk. The opening of a new home that will provide people with disabilities the opportunity for greater hope and dignity was a burst of sunshine on an overcast gray day. It was a grand reminder that in spite of all the challenges at the national and state level, there are good things happening in our communities every day.

Homes like the one recently opened in Southeast Michigan and across the state are helping to create new lives for people with disabilities.

People, Making A Difference!

Liberty Hill Housing corporation, ably led by its Executive Director Peggy Frankie, is a subsidiary of Community Living Services (www.comlivserv.com) under the direction of Jim Dehem. Both organizations are headquartered in Wayne. With vision, drive and leadership, this dynamic duo has turned dreams of people with disabilities living in our communities into a reality.

Yet, both Frankie and Dehem are quick to point out that every home that opens is the result of teamwork and a cooperative community spirit and determination from their partners in federal, state and local governments as well as non-profit agencies.

One Small Step For Man - One Giant Leap For Mankind

Just 30 years ago these same individuals were warehoused out of sight and often out of mind, at a great fiscal and moral cost, in vile, inhumane and costly state institutions.

These homes are monuments to how far we have come as a society in treating our fellow man.

Mayor Wild of Westland captured the excitement of the day when he said, "It is great to see new homes and new people coming to our community to add value and take part in all the great attributes Westland has to offer our citizens." Mayor Wild's director of Housing and Community Development, Joanne Inglis, added, "It is great to partner with Community Living Services, the ARC and Liberty Hill to build quality homes for people."

Jim Dehem and I worked together in the late 1970s and early 1980s, helping to break down the barriers of discrimination by moving people with developmental disabilities back into their communities. Having sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, that were "wards of the state" return to their community is like watching the words of our Constitution - where all people are free to "pursue, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" - leap from concept to reality.

Watching the smile on Jim Dehem's face as men and women he knew, and that were institutionalized as teens and young adults, gathered to celebrate the freedom of a new home for their friends was like a floodlight illuminating the joy of the day. Dehem exclaimed, "This is another freedom step for people with disabilities."

While the homes may be brick and mortar to some, they represent a Neil Armstrong moment - "One small step for man, one giant step for mankind" - to those who once suffered the indignities of being incarcerated in state mental health facilities and nursing centers.

There is much to give thanks for that takes place throughout the beautiful communities across Michigan - that we all call home. Yes, "Home Sweet Home!"

Tom Watkins is an education and business consultant. He served the state as Superintendent of Schools, 2001-2005, Mental Health director, 1986-1990 and a member of the Wayne County Charter Commission, 1980-1982. He can be reached at tdwatkins@aol.com.